Symantec investor pushing for split

An activist investor is reportedly building an investment stake in an attempt to break up a security software company. The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources, saying that Relational Investors wants Symantec to split into a security business AND a data storage business. The San Jose Business Journal reports that Symantec has been the focus of speculation since Intel bought McAfee for more than seven-and-a-half billion dollars. The data storage and management software side of the Symantec business came five years ago when it bought Veritas Software for thirteen-and-a-half billion dollars.

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Tom Temin is the host of The Federal Drive, which airs from 6-9 a.m. on 1500 AM in the Washington, DC region and online everywhere. Tom has 30 years experience in journalism, mostly in technology markets. Before coming to Federal News Radio, he was a long-serving editor-in-chief of Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines.